Stabenow, Lucas Likely Ag Committee Chairs

With the defeat Tuesday of Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is expected to take over the gavel as chair of the Agriculture Committee in the 112th Congress. And with Republicans gaining control of the House, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), who coasted to re-election Tuesday, will likely be the next chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

Lucas would be the first Oklahoman to serve as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture reached a significant milestone in 2017 – 50 years since its founding. In the beginning the Foundation focused primarily on research for advancing agricultural mechanization and technology.

The Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program that pays farmers and ranchers to retire environmentally sensitive cropland. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10 to 15 years in length, yet USDA Farm Service Agency data recently revealed that nearly one-quarter of all land enrolled in CRP has been enrolled for more than 20 years, and 12 percent o […]